ROBERT McMECHAN

REPRESENTATIVE WORK

Acted on agency basis for the Government of Canada as Lead Counsel in major tax avoidance (First Marathon) and transfer pricing (SmithKlineBeecham) cases

Acted as General Counsel, Department of Justice, litigating a wide variety of civil litigation cases across Canada, before Tax Court of Canada, Federal Court of Canada and Federal Court of Appeal

Acted as federal Crown Attorney and as agent for federal Crown prosecuting criminal law cases under federal statutes including Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act

Biography

Robert was a person of integrity. Respected by his colleagues and appreciated by his clients, Robert was a brilliant individual, caring father, and husband.

Described as a “tax litigation expert” by the Ontario Courts, Robert joined the firm as Senior Tax Counsel. Prior to joining the firm, he acted in the private sector as counsel for more than twenty years and held positions of General Counsel in the Tax Litigation section at the Department of Justice and Senior Rulings Officer at Revenue Canada.

Robert maintained an AV peer-review rating from Martindale-Hubbell for the highest level of professional excellence. In 2011, Robert was inducted as Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA) Trial Lawyer Honorary Society and in the following year, he was named in In-House Counsel magazine’s list of top Canadian lawyers.

Robert lectured for the Canadian Bar Association, Canada Revenue Agency and Law Society. He was a frequent speaker for Advocates’ Society, Canadian Tax Foundation and other groups, including as faculty member for tax litigation certificate skills program and as Chair of Resolving Tax Disputes Canadian Tax Foundation program. He served as an OBA Tax Section Executive member (1993-2003) and as Co-chair (2002-2003).

Bob, as those close to him called him, was born in Deloraine, Manitoba, and was very proud of his hometown. He loved long distance running, having completed numerous marathons on his own and with his running team. He was also a cyclist, swimmer and triathlete, and completed an Ironman in Penticton, B.C. In addition to his professional writing, Bob authored “Allison’s Brain” which won the 2015 National Indie Award for Excellence in “Inspiration” category.

Above all, Robert had a knack for bringing people together.

Robert passed away on August 7, 2016 at the age of 64. We at HazloLaw miss him dearly.